Well, today I knew my soul needed some self-talk. You see, not only do I talk to myself, but I also hear voices. Not audible ones. But I hear things in my head and in my heart that war for a prominent position in my life. You see, every person who names the Name of Christ as his or her Savior and Lord, automatically inherits an enemy. Satan, God's enemy. This dude can mess with me if I let him. If I let him. I hate to admit that lately, I think I've been letting his 'voice' which only speaks lies and hate to have close to equal time and access as God's voice, which is always true and for me.
In fact, God warned us in His Word that this could happen and gave us the tools to fight against it. "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Cor. 10:5
How do we do that, you ask? Indulge me a little of your time. I love how Max Lucado illustrates the process in his book, "Just Like Jesus":
"(Let's imagine) Your heart is a fertile greenhouse ready to produce good fruit. Your mind is the doorway to your heart - the strategic place where you determine which
seeds are sown and which seeds are discarded. The Holy Spirit is ready to help you manage
and filter the thoughts that try to enter. He can help you guard your heart.
He stands with you on the threshold. A thought approaches, a questionable thought. Do you throw open the door and let it enter? Of course not. You 'fight to capture every thought until it acknowledges the authority of Christ' (2 Cor. 10:5). You don't leave the door unguarded. You stand equipped with handcuffs and leg irons, ready to capture any thought not fit to enter.
For the sake of discussion, let's say a thought regarding your personal value approaches. With all the cockiness of a neighborhood bully, the thought swaggers up to the door and says, "You're a loser. All your life you've been a loser. You've blown relationships and jobs and ambitions. You might as well write the word bum on your resume, for that is what you are."
The ordinary person would throw open the door and let the thought in. Like a seed from a weed, it would find fertile soil and take root and bear thorns of inferiority.
The average person would say, "You're right. I'm a bum. Come on in."
But as a Christian, you aren't an average person. You are led by the Spirit. So rather than let the
thought in, you take it captive. You handcuff it and march it down the street to the
courthouse where you present the thought before the judgment seat of Christ.
"Jesus, this thought says I'm a bum and a loser and that I'll never amount to anything. What do you think?"
See what you are doing? You are submitting the thought to the authority of Jesus. If Jesus agrees with the thought, then let it in. If not, kick it out. In this case, Jesus disagrees.
How do you know Jesus disagrees? You open your Bible. What does God think about you?
Ephesians 2:10 is a good place to check: "For we are God's workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do".
Or how about Romans 8:1: "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Obviously, any thought that says you are inferior or insignificant does not pass the test - and does not gain entrance. You have the right to give the bully a firm kick in the pants and watch him run.
Let's take another example. The first thought was a bully; this next thought is a groupie. She comes not to tell you how bad you are but how good you are. She rushes to the doorway and gushes, "You are so good. You are so wonderful. The world is lucky to have you," and on and on the groupie grovels.
Typically this is the type of thought you'd welcome. But you don't do things the typical way. You guard your heart. You walk in the Spirit. And you take every thought captive. So once again you go to Jesus. You submit this thought to the authority of Christ. As you unsheathe the sword of the Spirit, His Word, you learn that pride doesn't please God.
"Don't cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance" (Rom 12:3)
"The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging" (Gal 6:14)
As much as you'd like to welcome this thought of conceit into the greenhouse, you can't. You only allow what Christ allows.
The point is this. Guard the doorway of your heart. Submit your thoughts to the authority of Christ. The more selective you are about the seeds, the more delighted you will be with the crop."*
That settles it. I needed a new crop. With this model in mind, I went back to my trusty booth at Panera and camped myself for a few hours. I had some thoughts that needed handcuffing. I got out my journal and by the time I finished, my heart was uplifted and my faith strengthened. God's Word was firmly in control.
Naturally, I wondered if it would be of value to anyone else. This is why I blog. So here goes, my prayer is that you, too, will talk to yourself, some soul talk and hear God's Words of Truth toward you.
First, I listed what I was hearing. Then I wrote down what I was fearing. I will spare you the gory details. I wonder if your honest list would look similar.
Then I wrote down the good things I see happening in my life right now, even while I'm feeling pain in other areas. Lastly, I took those first two lists and marched them down the hallway to Jesus and asked Him what He thought. Could they or should they stay?
What resulted was this final list. The list I will call "What I Need To Do" Here's some of it:
- Embrace suffering. It is an expected part of the adventure called the Christian life. Good things result from it. (Rom 8:28)
- Choose to live a reckless faith where I know God is real because I need Him.
- Be willing to sacrifice to God my comfort, my selfish desires, my will.
- Remember better God's Word, His promises and His faithfulness.
- Don't allow Satan to rattle me.
- Fix my eyes on Jesus. (A beautiful friend shared this verse with me after I dumped my tears and heart on the table before her a few weeks ago. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross..." Heb 12:2 - note the highlighted words) That's another whole blog post :)
- Distinguish God's economy vs. the world's economy regarding success, failure and purpose.
- Don't compare my life with anyone else's.
- Do not fear.
- Trust and obey and walk by faith.
- Remember the following:
- How much God loves me. (John 3:16 and so many more!)
- Life is God's story and He's the Author. I'm just a character. On my worst day, I can't screw up God's plans.
- He is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask for or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us. (Eph. 3:20)
- He knows what He is doing. He has not and will not drop me.
- God wants us to need Him for daily bread. He doesn't want us to trust in ourselves. It's ok to be weak and needy.
- This world is not my home. Forever with God is my real dream life.
- He has gone before me, thought this through, and prepared the way.
- God chose this wilderness for us. It is according to His plan because it is for our good.
- Be more excited and hopeful than tentative and fearful. This is a great adventure.
Do you feel better too?
*Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado p. 116,117
1 comment:
This is great. Save this for the next time you are asked to speak for a group of women. You are a gifted communicator & God is preparing you now for something special.
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